


Red

by deerkota



Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Based on a Tumblr Post, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I cant write fight scenes, Not Beta Read, Violence, implied charbee, starscream is an aft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-26
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-12-18 11:23:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18248846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deerkota/pseuds/deerkota
Summary: On what was supposed to be a simple mission of taking out a few decepticon drones, Charlie gets injured. Bumblebee vows to do everything in his power to prevent her from getting hurt again.





	Red

The day had started out relatively normal. Bumblebee and Charlie were going for a drive together, jamming out to Charlie’s tapes of various songs that fit perfectly with the feeling of pumping adrenaline and wind-mussed hair as they sped down the empty highway. Charlie was laughing, a joyful ringing sound that made Bee’s spark stop momentarily each time he heard it. She sang along at the top of her lungs. She stopped once he had turned the volume way down from the blasting sound that he had been playing it at, and she fixed his rearview mirror with a confused gaze, feeling him slow down to a reasonable speed. 

“Bee? What-” She was cut off as a comm played over the speakers. “-pticon drone sighted approximately twelve miles directly southwest of your current location. Check it out and report back once you have taken care of it,” sounded a deep, authoritative voice that surely belonged to Optimus Prime. Bumblebee chirped a reply as the comm went silent. 

Bumblebee revved his engine, thrilled at the thought of being able to show off in front of his favorite person.  _ “Now you _ \- zzt -  _ watch me work! _ \- kssh -  _ honey, darlin’, hold on tight!” _ Bumblebee’s radio sang through various channels as he tightened his seatbelt around Charlie’s frame, speeding off in the reported direction of the sighting.

After a few minutes of driving across a stretch of dilapidated, pothole-filled road, Bumblebee spotted the drones scanning the remains of a town. Charlie vaguely wondered what had happened to cause all inhabitants to leave, making the town some sort of wasteland. The car around her shifted unnaturally until she was seated in a large servo. Bumblebee lowered her to the ground so she could hop off outside the range of the drones’ scanners. He motioned for her to stay put as he began shooting at the airborne machines.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a figure moving toward the collapsed buildings. “Uh, Bee?” she called out, trying to get his attention. “I thought Optimus said there were only a couple of drones-” The figure became easier to see through the waves of heat that rose from the cracked pavement. Her heart dropped into her stomach as she spied a decepticon logo on the mech she’d learned was Starscream based on the descriptions from the other bots. Looking around panickedly, she found a spot that was somewhat hidden, though she was sure she could be easily seen if something had attracted the decepticon’s attention. Such as a ringtone. More specifically, the ringtone she had set for when her mother would call her.  _ Shit. _

Red optics found her almost instantly, but didn’t seem to pay her any mind until she began running toward Bumblebee as fast as her legs could carry her. “Well,” came a booming voice from behind her. “What have we here? One of the autobot’s pets?” he mused as a massive servo picked her up roughly. He squeezed unbearably tight around her as she struggled. 

“Let me go!” she screeched, hoping that the high pitched sound would cause him to drop her. Instead, he scowled and gripped her tighter until she was sure she was bruised all over. “Bee,” she cried out to him, hearing an alarmed beep sound from below.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Starscream said, his voice oozing with sarcasm. “Does this thing belong to you? Ah, but of course it does! I’ve heard about the bug’s little pet,” he spat, and lifted a finger in warning as Bumblebee stepped forward. “Now, now, let’s not be hasty! Just tell me where the other autobots are hiding and I won’t have to kill her,” he sang, gesturing his servos and tightening his grip as his captive clawed at his fingers with her untrapped hand. Charlie yelped and let out a strangled sob as she heard and felt the crunch of bone beneath the decepticon’s grip. “Oh dear, it seems like I’ve broken it! You know, it’s so annoying how flimsy these organic creatures are,” he sneered. 

She watched helplessly as Bumblebee’s optics flared. Energon pumped through his system and his servos clenched. His face mask shifted down onto his fury-filled expression. Sky blue turned firey red behind the narrowed eyes of his mask. Everything was muted to him with the exception of pure, unbridled rage.  _ No one _ hurt Charlie and got away with it.

Bumblebee ran toward Starscream, landing blow after blow on the larger mech. Starscream threw Charlie to the ground, causing her to wheeze and cough raggedly; her bloody, scraped palms and knees the least of her worries. She watched as Starscream managed to land a few hits on Bumblebee after his initial shock. The yellow bot tackled him to the ground and began beating him relentlessly, each blow ringing louder in Charlie’s ears from where she lay. Starscream kneed him in the gut and punched his jaw, scrambling away from the disoriented bot. He scowled and transformed, retreating to the skies. Bumblebee moved to chase after him, but stopped as a weak voice called out to him. 

His mask retracted back into his helm as he turned to face her, his optics turning back to the familiar soft blue. He rushed to Charlie’s side and knelt by her collapsed form. His servos trembled just above her, terrified of causing her more pain than she was already in. A quick scan of her showed a broken arm and several cracked ribs. Large portions of skin were already beginning to bruise as blood vessels all over had burst beneath the flesh. Her ankle throbbed – a detail human eyes were unable to see – and he assumed she had landed wrong when Starscream threw her. As gently as he could, he cradled her in his servos and transformed around her carefully so she would lie across the back seat. He wasn’t nearly as safe as an ambulance, but from what he could tell, Charlie’s phone had been crushed and he couldn’t really call for medical assistance on his own. He used the seatbelts to prevent her from falling off the seat; he did all he could think of in order to prevent any more harm from coming to her. 

Bumblebee made a beeline for the base. He’d heard about terrible things happening at normal hospitals – his panicked processor decided that the humans working at the base had more expertise and she would therefore be safer there. He sped as fast as his engine would allow. Once the base came into view, he hardly slowed. He skidded, rubber burning as he transformed halfway and held her in his servos. The rest of his transformation followed and his pedes made a horrid  _ screech _ as he came to a halt before the medbay. He stood before a startled Ratchet, incomprehensible buzzing and beeping and whirring sounding from the panicked bot. After his initial surprise, Ratchet gave her a quick scan before barking out orders to the human medics, knowing that there was little he could do to help the girl. 

Bumblebee followed as the doctor and nurses took her to the makeshift hospital that was set up for the humans that looked over the base. He peered over their shoulders the entire time, refusing to leave her side. He let out an angry warning buzz as they began removing her clothes to inspect the severity of the damage, but was quickly silenced by Ratchet’s scolding and a quick explanation of why they had to do it. 

After what seemed like an eternity, they’d finished casting her arm and giving her some ice packs for her ribs. One of the nurses had a pair of spare sweatpants and a t-shirt that she set at the foot of Charlie’s cot for when she awoke, but for now she was covered with one of the thin blankets that were a hospital staple.

Bumblebee stayed by her side until she stirred, which was long after all the other bots had gone into stasis for the night. He quietly chirped at her, almost sounding guilty.

“Hey,” Charlie winced as she sat up, earning herself a reprimanding yet worried buzz. “Why aren’t you in stasis?” she asked, seeing no one else in the dim light of the base.

“I **was** _worried about_ you,” he radioed softly. She gave him a faint smile that was dampened by worry. 

“Even if you are, that doesn’t mean you get to stay up all night – you’ll wear yourself out doing that. I’m fine,” she assured him, “I’ll be here when you wake up, okay?” He grimaced as the scene replayed every time his optics closed, her sobs relaying as he thought of the sickening crunch.

_“Don’t want_ \- pshh - you **hurt** again. I’ll stay _beside you,”_ he insisted _._ Charlie sighed and shook her head. 

“How about this,” she said, trying to compromise. “You change into your alt form and get some stasis and I’ll sleep in the back seat,” she offered. He let out a reluctant sound but nodded anyways. She swung her legs over the side of the cot, taking ahold of one of his fingers from his outstretched servo to help her keep steady. She held the thin blanket to her chest to keep herself somewhat modest. Bumblebee picked up the loaned clothes and helped her toward the area that most of the bots slept in while in alt form. 

Once they were there, Bumblebee transformed and opened the back door for her, watching her carefully and ready to take action if she showed any signs of losing her balance or otherwise. She shut the door behind her quietly and began putting on the sweatpants and shirt. She folded up the blanket and used it as a makeshift pillow. She had to bend her long legs in order for her upper body to lay down fully, and Bumblebee felt a bit guilty about the situation – he couldn’t bring himself to leave her side, but she would be undoubtedly more comfortable on the cot than cramped up on the inside of a camaro. He sensed that she fell asleep rather quickly, though, and he hesitated before allowing himself to enter stasis. His last thought before it took him was that he would do everything in his power to see that no harm befell her ever again.


End file.
